critics be damned...

Rating: 8/10 (3 February 2017)

...critics be damned...how can you work and get paid for watching movies and not like this movie? as a testament, even with the critics hating it the film is still solidly rated at 8.1 stars as i'm writing this review.
no Oscar nominations for this film...in my opinion...best actor, supporting actor, best film, best director and best score..but alas...not one.
the story itself has been reviewed to death already by other reviewers already so i wouldn't step there. what i can say is that the story moved me to tears on multiple occasions..heartfelt tears...i've watched just about all the good ones and plenty of bad ones too...none has moved me to tears so many times in one viewing. just about everyone that shed a tear watching this movie shed tears at different segments of the movie although just about everyone cried at the end.
i watched the original version...close to 3 hrs. long and not the 2 hr. version. great story, cinematopgraphy, score and of course the direction.
in my humble opinion...the director tornatore is a treasure on the global scale...i've watched a few of his films where i can find them and they have all stayed in my memory.
againnnn....professional critics be damned for hating a masterpiece....not 1 Oscar nomination either...what a joke and farce the people in Hollywood are.